Interested in building websites? How about making video games, or phone apps, and controlling robots?
Then check out Monson Free Library’s new Code Club for youth ages 8 to 18 on March 5, where participants will work on learning those skills and more.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is funding a one-year grant for Arizona-based Prenda, a technology company, to deliver the resources and provide the support to run the Code Club at the library.
“Libraries are struggling to find their place in the digital world. We help them renew their position as a staple in the community by creating transformative experiences like code club,” Prenda states on its website, prendacodeclub.com.
Monson was one of 50 small, rural libraries to receive the grant, and the only one in Massachusetts, according to Sandra A. Courtney, youth services librarian.
“The more that I learn about just how the program is structured the more excited I get,” Courtney said in a recent interview. “Computers and technology are the future. Kids are playing with a computer all the time, but they don’t know the basics of programming.”
“We want to give kids the opportunity to learn on their own and get this new in-demand skill,” she added.
Courtney said Monson Free Library Director Hope Bodwell discovered the grant opportunity and approached her about offering the code club.
“The part that caught my eye is that you don’t have to be an expert at coding,” Courtney said.
They already have approximately 20 kids signed up, and Courtney said she is not limiting registration.
“I want to give them the chance to learn something and have fun,” Courtney said.
She said participants can bring their Chromebooks or laptops to the club, and the library also purchased an additional 10 Chromebooks for this initiative. She also has reached out to National Honor Society members in Monson and Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School’s code club for volunteers and mentors.
She said the library will offer club participants “a level-playing field,” by allowing those who wouldn’t be able to attend code clubs elsewhere the chance to learn. It also will help students lacking Internet service at home, she said. Instruction will be informal, and “student-driven,” she said.
The club will feature several robots, including Spheros, which Courtney described as “adorable.”
Courtney plans to hold a “May showcase” where the students can show off what they’ve learned.
The Code Club kicks off March 5 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. She is asking parents to attend the first meeting. The club will run through May, followed by summer and fall sessions.
Registration is required online at monsonlibrary.com under “Calendar of Events.” For information, contact Courtney at scourtney@cwmars.org or call 413-267-3866.
2020-02-27 12:15:00Z
https://www.masslive.com/living/2020/02/monson-free-library-to-offer-youth-code-club.html
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